Mets’ miserable season might best be summed up by Craig Kimbrel originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The New York Mets are relying on Craig Kimbrel in some big moments out of the bullpen.
A decade ago, that would’ve been exciting. Now, it might be more exciting for the other team.
That was certainly the case on Thursday, when Kimbrel allowed a 2-2 tie to be broken up by a Colorado Rockies grand slam.
Try reading this headline without laughing…
๐ญ๐ฐ-๐ฎ๐ฏ ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ง๐ผ ๐ฅ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ณ-๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ-๐ผ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น (๐ณ.๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ฅ๐) ๐๐น๐น๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฎ๐บ pic.twitter.com/AtILqtuZOB
โ Dan Clark (@DanClarkSports) May 7, 2026
The Mets have been miserable in so many ways this season, but maybe considering Kimbrel’s situation helps sum it all up.
The reality is that he used to be one of the best closers ever, but he hasn’t been at that level in years.
The Mets didn’t even have Kimbrel on their roster during the offseason, only adding him late as a speculative move that was far from a guarantee to make the major league roster.
This offseason saw bullpen shakeup for the Mets as they let Edwin Diaz sign with the Dodgers but brought aboard Devin Williams and Luke Waver.
Kimbrel, somehow, has pushed his way into the mix. New York’s bullpen hasn’t been good enough in general, so it’s not like there are a ton of sure things out there for Carlos Mendoza to call upon.
But it’s fair to wonder at this point: Kimbrel? Really?ย
He’s not good enough now to make a difference, and he doesn’t have long-term potential to be grown. It feels like putting Kimbrel in the game is akin to turning down a dead end street.
Pretty soon, that may be exactly what this season feels like for the Mets, too.